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ICSE Notes 2017 : History and Civics (Isha Home School, Coimbatore)

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Arun Kumar
Isha Home School (IHS), Coimbatore
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The First World War CAUSES OF THE WAR - Imperialist Rivalries Among Nations All parts of Asia, Africa and some other areas had come under the control of at least one imperialist nation of Europe. The entry of Germany in the race for colonies complicated the matter further. Asia and Africa had already been divided between the European powers. The only way for Germany to increase its colonies was by dispossessing the older colonial powers like Britain and France. After its unification in 1871, Germany made tremendous industrial progress. Britain was able to maintain its economic predominance in India and some countries of South-East Asia. But in Latin America, the Middle East and the Far East, it lost out heavily due to German competition. Imperial Rivalries: Britain and Germany in East and South-West Africa France and Britain in Siam(Thailand) and Egypt Britain and Russia in Persia and Afghanistan Germany and France in Morocco and West Africa Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Balkans. Italy coveted Tripoli which was part of the Ottoman Empire. The USA, which extended its influence over the Philippines and other islands in the Pacific. - Rivalry between France and Germany - In the Franco-German War (1870-71), France was defeated and had to hand over two of its mineral rich provinces, Alsace and Lorraine, to Germany. In 1904, France and England signed a secret agreement by which France would take over Morocco in exchange for Britain having a free hand in Egypt. War was about to begin but was averted when France agreed to give Germany a part of French Congo (in Africa). Germany, in exchange, agreed to the French occupation of Morocco. Rivalry between Britain and Germany By the middle of the 19th century, Britain had emerged as the most powerful industrial nation. It was also recognized as the supreme naval power. Under the able guidance of Bismarck, Germany rose to prominence and by 1870 was considered the most powerful nation of Europe. It became the largest producer of steel and iron. In 1912 it built the Imperator, considered to be the largest ship made in the world till then. - Formation of Alliances - Initially they agreed to support each other only for defense but now they felt bound to give military aid if any one of them was involved in a war. The emergence of two mutually opposed groups divided Europe into two hostile camps, leading to mutual hatred and tension. All the countries began to spend large sums of money on increasing their military strength and in developing new and deadlier weapons for probable confrontations. The German Ambition of a World Empire - In 1879, Germany concluded a secret alliance with Austria-Hungary, called the Dual Alliance. Besides providing mutual military help, it aimed to prevent France and Russia from joining each other. Later in 1882, Italy joined the group, thus forming the Triple Alliance comprising Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. The common hostility towards Germany brought France and Russia together and it 1894, they signed the Franco-Russian Alliance. Though Britain remained aloof in the beginning, it signed the Entente Cordiale (a friendly understanding) with France in 1904. The Entente Cordiale was followed by the Triple Entente in 1907, comprising Britain, France and Russia. Division of Europe into Rival Groups - Germany widened the Kiel canal connecting the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, making the canal navigable by big ships, thus bringing danger to the doorstep of Britain. Germany began to build the Berlin-Baghdad railway connecting Berlin to Baghdad, which threatened the safety of the British colonies in the East. Mutual jealousies and the race for supremacy between the two countries created conditions for conflict. By the end of the 19th Century, Germany had also become a firs-rate industrial and military power. The German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was an ambitious ruler and dreamt of Weltpolitik or a world empire at any cost. The German leaders popularized war and began to preach that Germany must fight a war to attain the greatness the Kaiser was entitled to. These ideas encouraged militarism. The Race for Armaments Germany began to increase its naval force and started large scale production of arms and ammunition. Each country began to experiment with weapons and techniques, eager to use these on rival countries. The war propaganda by newspapers in Germany aggravated the tension, generating hatred, doubt and distrust among all powers, precipitating the war. - Extreme Nationalism and Growth of Militarism The 19th century witnessed the growth of militant nationalism. Each powerful country in Europe competed with others to improve its superiority. Patriotism and nationalism began to imply hatred for other nations. - The Pan-Slav Movement and the Balkan Problem - Austria Hungary included people of various nationalities. The Slavic people of the Balkan region wished to unite under one state led by Serbia, he largest amongst them all. This was known as the Pan-Slav Movement. Russia supported Serbia. It had an ulterior aim to dominate the Balkan region and have an outlet into the Aegean Sea. Austria-Hungary opposed Serbia because a powerful Serbia would check Austrian ambition in the Balkans. This resulted in a rivalry between Austria on one side and Russia and Serbia on the other. Originally, the Balkan region was under the control of the Ottoman empire. With the rapid decline of the Ottoman empire, some of its provinces formed independent states, such as Greece, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria. In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed two of the Balkan states Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia too coveted these areas for establishing a united Serbian state and enlisted Russian support to acquire these. A confrontation was prevented only when Germany decided to support Austria-Hungary against Serbia and Russia. Though an immediate war was prevented, bitter rivalry continued. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was followed by the Balkan Wars in 1912 between four Balkan states (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro) on one side and Turkey on the other. Turkey was defeated. The Second Balkan War was fought among the Balkan states for distribution of the occupied territories. Finally, Austria-Hungary succeeded in setting up an independent state of Albania out of these territories. This thwarted the Serbian plan of a greater Serbian state and was greatly responsible in bringing Europe on the verge of a war. Absence of an effective international organization - In 1899, the Russian Emperor Tsar Nicholas II had invited delegates from several nations to the first Hague Conference. At this conference, it was proposed that no nation should increase the size of its army or its spending in defense for the next 5 years. However, this was strongly opposed by Germany. The second such conference at The Hague in 1907 also failed to achieve anything significant. In the absence of an international organization, nations resorted to secret treaties, diplomatic intrigues and outright war to achieve their aims. Murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand The immediate cause of World War I, however, was the murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, at Sarajevo in Bosnia on 28 June, 1914, by a young Serb. The Austrian government held the Serbian government responsible for the murder and sent an ultimatum. Supported by Russia, Serbia refused to accept one of the conditions which undermined its independence. On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. As soon as Austria declared war, Russia came to Serbia s aid and started mobilizing troops. On 1 August, Germany declared war on Russia and on 3 august, in France. As the German troops crossed Belgium to enter France, on 4 August, Britain declared war on Germany. Japan joined the war on the side of the Allied Powers with the aim of acquiring German colonies in China, Turkey and Bulgaria joined Germany. Later, Italy, though a member of the Central Powers, joined the allies and ought against Germany. EVENTS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR - Developments in 1917 USA entered the war on 6 April 1917. The second event was the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from the war. The day after the Bolshevik government came to power after the Russian Revolution, it issued the Decree on Peace with proposals to end war. In March 1918, Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. Britain, France and the USA launched a military offensive in July 1918 and Germany and its allies began to collapse. Bulgaria withdrew from the w3ar in September; Turkey surrendered in October. The emperor of Austria-Hungary surrendered on 3 November due to unrest in the country. Revolution broke out in Germany. As a result, Germany became a republic and the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, fled to Holland. The new German government signed an armistice on 11 November 1918 and the war came to an end. PEACE SETTLEMENTS - Between January and June 1919, the victorious powers met at a conference, first at Versailles and then at Paris to decide the future of the defeated states and also to discuss other important issues. - Separate treaties were signed with the defeated powers The Treaty of Versailles with Germany, The Treaty of Saint-Germain with Austria-Hungary, The Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria, and The Treaty of Sevres with Turkey. In 923, The Treaty of Lausanne was signed with Turkey revising the terms of the earlier treaty. Germany was charged with the war guilt and was penalized the most. It was deprived of all its colonies an asked to pay a huge amount of compensation. According to The Treaty of Saint-Germain, Austria-Hungary was separated and Hungary became an independent republic. A According to The Treaty of Sevres, Turkey was broken up and its territories were given as mandates to France and England. Some parts of Turkish territories were also given to Greece. According to The Treaty of Neuilly, Bulgaria was disarmed and had to pay heavy was compensation. - All the countries which had supported Germany had to part with large areas of their territories. THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES - Germany was declared guilty of war and aggression and asked to pay a huge sum of money, $650,00,00,000, as compensation. - Alsace and Lorraine, the two provinces which Germany acquired from France in 1871, were to be given back to France. - The coal mines in the Saar Valley in Germany were given to France for 15 years. The Rhineland - the land between Germany and France was demilitarized and brought under the supervision of the Allied Powers. - To prevent future aggression, steps were taken to disarm Germany: The German Army was reduced to 100,000 soldiers only. Conscription (compulsory service in the armed forces) was abolished. The German navy was limited to 15,000 men and 24 ships. The German High Sea Fleet was surrendered to Britain and many of its warships were sunk. Germany was ordered not to have submarines or an air force. - Germany was dispossessed of all its colonies, which were divided amongst the victorious powers. - The covenant of the League of Nations was included in The Treaty of Versailles. CONSEQUENCES - Death and Destruction - Effect on the World Economy - 9 million people were killed. Millions of others were wounded and disabled. Many more lost their lives in epidemics, famines and diseases during the course of the war. Total expenditure: $186 billion. Over 100 countries, big and small, participated in the war. Unemployment and tension due to shattered economies. This led to economic depression, price rise and shortage of essential commodities. Victory of Democracy over Autocracy The Romanov Dynasty of Russia was overthrown after the Russian Revolution in 1917. The Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary and the Hohenzollerns of Germany were also driven out and republics set up. The Turkish empire was also broken up and in 1922, the monarchy was abolished and a republic set up with Kemal Pasha as the President. - Territorial Changes - Victory of Nationalism - The Treaty of Sevres with Turkey introduced the Mandatory System under which the territories of the Turkish empire were given t Farce and Britain as mandates. For example, Palestine and Mesopotamia were given to Britain and Syria was given to France. Mandatory powers meant that France and Britain were to look after the interests the mandates till they were able to govern themselves. But in actual practice the mandates were governed like any other colony. A Setback to European Supremacy and the Emergence of USA and the USSR as Superpowers - Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Finland, Latvia and Poland were created or enlarged on the principle of nationality. There was a resurgence of nationalism in Asia and Africa after the war. People of most of the colonies hoped to achieve self-government in exchange of their services during the war. National awakening among the people and the growth of democratic aspirations were the positive effects of the First World War. Mandatory System - A new state of Czechoslovakia was formed out of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. The Slavic states of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia and some other states united with Serbia and formed Yugoslavia. Romania was enlarged with the addition of Transylvania within its territory. Poland was enlarged, regaining all areas which it had lost earlier to Germany, Austria and Russia. Out of the Russian Empire, four independent republics of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were created. Two Danish districts which Germany had acquired from Denmark in 1864 were return to Denmark and Alsace and Lorraine were given back to France. The First World War shattered the economies of the European countries and it took a very long time for them to recover. The USA, which was no affected much by the war, emerged as a world power and the former Soviet Union became its foremost competitor. The war gave a serious setback to European Supremacy and profoundly changed the international scenario. Rise of Dictatorships Taking advantage of the frustration and thwarted hopes after the war, dictatorships overthrew democratic governments, especially in Italy under Mussolini and in Germany under Hitler. The growing popularity of the fascist ideology and the harsh treatment meted out to Germany in The Treaty of Versailles finally brought the world to the verge of the Second World War. LEAGUE OF NATIONS - Even before the end of the war, in January 1918, Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States, proposed a peace program popularly known as Wilson s 14 Points. Among other points, he proposed the formation of an international organization to guarantee the independence of all states. - The League of Nations had five main organs: - The Assembly The Council The Secretariat The International Court of Justice The International Labor Organization. The basic aims and objectives of the League were: - To achieve international peace and security and to prevent future war To promote just and honorable reations among the nations of the world To promote material and intellectual cooperation between the nations for a happier and nobler life To formulate plans for reduction of national armaments To preserve territorial integrity and political independence of all members of the League To adhere to the principle of justice and respect for international law and treaty obligation in mutual dealings To supervise the working of the Mandatory System for promoting human welfare. Reasons for Failure The Soviet Union and Germany were not made members. The League did not have any instrument or army to enforce its decisions. The United States decided not to join it. Members were not sincere- many of the major members signed secret treaties instead of resorting to collective action. When any country resorted to aggression, it either ignored or defied the League.

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